Power boat



C. A. cmoul. POWER BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. |918.

1,401,963. Patented Jan. 3,1922.

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CHARLES A. CRIQUI, OI? BUFFALO, NEW YORK. I

rowaa Boar.

Specification-of ietters Patent.i

Application filed November 7, 1918. serialil'o. 261,534.)

Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Power Boats, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to motor-driven boats of the type having a tunnel in ,which the propeller is arranged.

A boat of this character is shown and described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,108,340, granted to me August Fig..2 is a sectional rear view thereof. Fig.

3 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the tunnel, on an enlarged scale, showing a modiied form of the ej ector-tube.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.V

1 indicates the hull of the boat7 2 the propeller mounted on the shaft 3, and 4 a suitable motor, such as a gas engine, for driving the propeller-shaft, in the usual manner.

Secured within an opening in the bottom of the boat is a tunnel 5 which may be of any suitable construction, but which is prefferably made of sheet metal separate from the hull and portable, like that shown in the Letters Patent hereinbefore referred to. This tunnel is open at its bottom -and'its rear end as usual.

Above the propeller the tunnel has the usual hand or manhole through which access is had to the propeller and its shaft for clearing the same of weeds, or for other purposes. rl`his hole is closed by a cover 6 clamped in place by a screw 7. The latter engages a yoke 8 removably interlocked with a xed ring 9 by any Suitable means, The customary watertight hood or wellf10 encloses this ring. It is of sufficient height to extend above the water level when theY had to the submerged propeller after `re moving the cover 6, without flooding the boat.

Communicating with the upper portion of the tunnel is an air-ejector of any appropriate construction which is operated by the rearward current ofthe water createdy by the propeller. The preferred ejecting device shown in the drawings comprises an Patented Jan. 3,' 1922.

boat is.` loaded, '.in'porderthat may4 be 1 open-ended tube'or pipe 11 arranged lengthf wise in the upper part of the tunnel and eX- tending from the highest point thereof to its rear end.. The tube is carried by hangers 12 and its rear portion is preferably bent or curved downwardly, as shown at 13. Surrounding or enclosing the rear portion of the tube is a U-shaped hood or funnel 14 secured to the deck of the tunnel and separated from the tube by an intervening space or passage 15 through which a portion of the rearwardly-flowing water passes, thereby creating a Vpartial vacuum at the adjacent end of the tube and exhausting the air from the tunnel. In order to obtain the best results, this ejector-hood is tapered from its front toward its rear end, as shown. The air being thus displaced, the tunnel space above the normal water-line will be filled with water, avoiding cavitation at the propeller and obtaining its maximum eiliciency.

In cases `where the manholecover 6 is 1ocated higher than the top of the tunnel 5, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the front end of the ejector-tube 11 may be curved and eX- tended upwardly into'the well 10, as shown at 113-; while when the cover is located at the top of the tunnel, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the front end ofthe tube may be straight or horizontal, as shown at 11". -v

By utilizing the current produced by the propeller as the operating means of the airejector, no separate power-actuated device, such as a pump, is required for this purpose, providing an exceedingly simple and inexpensive contrivance. At the same time its construction and location are such that it does not interfere with the speed of the boat.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination of a boat having a propeller-tunnel, and air-ejecting means connected with said tunnel and operated by the water-current through the same.

2. The combination of a boat having a propeller-tunnel, and an air-ejector, including anexhanstcondnit extending from the upper portion of the tunnel 'toward its open rear end. Y

3. The oombinationmroffa-Hboat `i1m`fir1g-5e v 5 propei1er-tunne1, an exhaust-tube extending `from the upper portion of the tunnel to its, open rear end, and an ejector-hood arranged Within the tunnelwandeneiosing the rearfend;

4. The combinationon `toontshoving; L

prope11e1-tunne1, dwell extending upwardly fi'omthe tunliehpal manhole cover'il'i` Seid 5L AE loont-tunnel earrying air-ejectng ineens, comprising an exhaust-tube extend- 111g from Jthe upper portion of the tunnel to its rear end and an ejector-hood enclosing Y the discharge'Yendfof "said tube.

. p' CHARLES. A.' einem; 

